Piopio College

Piopio College
Location
18 Aria Road, Piopio
Coordinates	38°28′22.84″S175°0′49.51″E / 38.4730111°S 175.0137528°E / -38.4730111; 175.0137528
Information
Type	Co-Ed. Year 7–13.
Established	1975
Ministry of Education Institution no.	162
Principal	Ben Draper
School roll	134 [1] (July 2025)
Socio-economic decile	5M [2]
Website	piopio.school.nz

Piopio College is a coeducational secondary school in Piopio, a town in the Waitomo District of New Zealand.

History

The College opened in 1975 when Piopio District High School was separated into Piopio Primary School and Piopio College.^{[ citation needed ]} It won the Goodman Fielder Best School of the Year Award in 1999 jointly with Patearoa School. ^[3]

Piopio District High School was formed in 1924. It was the first school in New Zealand to have a school bus service.

A combined schools centenary was held in March 2009. ^[4]

Enrolment

As of July 2025, Piopio College has a roll of 134 students, of which 64 (47.8%) identify as Māori. ^[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 503, ^[5] placing it amongst schools whose students have many socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 2 and 3 under the former socio-economic decile system). ^[6]

Notable alumni

• David Fagan – world class shearer
• Jenny-May Coffin – former Silver Ferns netball player, for which she was the vice-captain in 2001; TVNZ presenter
• Hannah Osborne – Olympic rower
• Farah Palmer – former captain of the Black Ferns
• Rob Waddell – world and Olympic champion rower; grinder for Team New Zealand in the Americas Cup

Principals

• Bob Ford (1975–1979)
• Brian Tegg (1980–2001)
• Tim Davies-Colley (2002–2007)
• David Day (2008–2012)
• Julie Radice (2013–2015)
• Johan van Deventer (2017–2021)
• Rakesh Govind (2022–2024)
• Ben Draper (2024-present)

References

1. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
2. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
3. "Down to earth focus". Education Gazette New Zealand. 79 (13). 24 July 2000.
4. "Piopio College and Piopio Primary (ex Piopio District High School)". Education Gazette New Zealand. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007.
5. "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
6. "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.